Paul Boothe on lessons from the PC platform and where it all went so wrong

PAUL BOOTHE
Maclean’s
May 27 2014

A very surprising and, for voters, unfortunate thing became apparent last week in the Ontario election campaign. The Progressive Conservatives’ central campaign proposal, the million jobs plan, collapsed when analysts looked closely at the math. Elementary, but critical arithmetic errors in their calculations resulted in the Progressive Conservatives vastly overestimating the number of jobs their plan would create. These errors demolished the underlying economic rationale the party had put forward for its smaller-government, lower-tax plan.

Partisans of the Liberals and New Democrats may take pleasure in the collapse of their opponents’ platform. However, voters should not. What appeared to be an election with a clear choice between two visions of the future role of Ontario’s public sector has reverted to a discussion of the credibility of leaders. Lacking a sensible alternative, the role of government cannot be a matter of serious debate.